Saturday Mourning
by super ario
Summary: A simple phone call can ruin more than just your Saturday morning. Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

Well, it looks like I _finally _got some time in to write. I just started school, I'm extremely behind everyone else and I'm the new kid. It's stressful. Besides, I have to go out and get a freakin' laptop because I'm _still_ laptopless, and have been limited to using the interweb from my iPod. Augh. I'm so glad to be back for however brief a time, and although my body hurts me (major sunburn--blame SeaWorld) I am going to write as much as I can as possible. This idea pretty much came out of nowhere. A plot-bunny came and latched onto the tip of my nose for weeks, just hanging there until I got tired of it biting and had to write it. I finally have the chance to. I'm not so sure how lengthy it will end up being (probably a lot longer than I expect, as always) but I know I'm having at least 5 or so chapters in. I'm not so sure where to start it either, but I'm guessing the plot'll take off. I've just been inspired by the tiresome weekend I had with my cousins, so that's where the Uno reference is from. (The game is Uno Attack) I just think that Ben & Riley would be the kind of people to get all competetive and bet a lot of money on a measly card game like that. Sorry if they aren't much in character, I'm trying. And sorry if this chapter sorta is boring, I just needed a starter, if you know what I mean.

**Disclaimer: **(sigh) No, I _don't _own National Treasure and you don't have to rub it in, either. Although--I do own my OC, Tory! Oh, and Janice. She comes out later though.

**Summary:// **A simple phone call can ruin more than just your Saturday morning. **// **A family tragedy sparks Ben & Abi's curiosity to Riley's childhood. This is not in any way related to my oneshot "Bear Hugs", it's another take on what possibly could've happened to Riley, and yes it's angsty. You all seem to like it that way. Throughout the process of grieving, you'll all discover what really happened to Riley and his sister, Tory. Inspiration for Tory came randomly, but I stole her name from my bestfriend _Tori _because I couldn't think of anything else. :p

The title just popped into my head when watching some television credits. I saw something that said 'Saturday Morning' and I misread it as 'Mourning', which made me think, "Hey! What a nice play on words!" Kind of cheesy but I couldn't think of anything else so, yeah. And finally, since this intro. is long enough as it is, enjoy.

:) Oh, it might be a little short. The following chapters will be longer.

* * *

"_UNO_!"

Riley Poole shot his friend a mischevious smile.

Ben Gates groaned with annoyance, sending a quick death-glare to the younger man seated across from him at the table. His friend only continued to smirk at him, his eyes motioning over to the dreaded 'card machine'. _The button, Ben. _He could almost hear the other say, and Ben playfully rolled his eyes. He reached over, pressing the button slowly. The contraption, in return, shot out two more cards and Ben scooped them up angrily. _It's just a game, _he had told himself. But, it was quite an addicting game he would admit--and he hated to loose.

Riley, pajama-pant-clad and all, had ended up spending the night when he had tried to help Ben with a cipher. The two had stayed up, working endlessly, but sadly hadn't finished. Abigail had sent them both to bed at 2:24 AM. Riley was happy enough that he still had extra clothes over in what they considered his own bedroom--since he practically lived with the two--and even happier that he had clean pajama pants. It took him forty-six seconds after he hit the bed to fall sound asleep. Now, as Abigail was fixing up a breakfast of frenchtoast and eggs, her two _men_ were playing a game of 'Uno Attack'. Quite competitively.

Riley had brought it over yesterday (it was raining- and he was bored) and they had a few games while Abigail was working. Ben easily became attracted to the game, and unfortunately for him, Riley always seemed to win at the last minute. He hadn't won one game himself! He wondered momentarily if Riley had somehow used his tech-genious to rig the game so he always won, but he knew that was rediculous. He told the young man that they were going to play until he won, and he was serious. Of course, they had stopped playing and began working on solving the cipher that Ben had been trying to figure out for days. This morning, Riley had teasingly brought the game out again, setting it up right on the kitchen table. After two rounds, he decided to make things a little _interesting, _that was, if Ben could _'handle it'_. And Ben- stubborn as ever- agreed. He _had _to win! Though Abigail had strictly told them not to, they had each put some money into the bet--and Ben couldn't help but stare longingly at the $40.50 sitting right in the middle of the table.

His odds of winning were looking rather good. He had just gotten rid of a card and only had one left. Riley, on the other hand, still had four cards. Yet, he always seemed to remember to yell '_Uno' _before Ben did. Now Ben was back to three cards. Riley looked over his own cards with a "Hmmm", and looked back at the card resting on the pile on the table. A red seven. He could play the green seven he had, but decided against it. He set down a red card, marked with an 'X'. It was one of those Discard All cards. He watched Ben in the corner of his eye, as the older man's face contorted with frustration as he set down his other two red cards. "UNO!" He called, before Ben had a chance to even _think _about it. They were both neck-and-neck now. Ben glanced at the last card Riley had played--a red four.

He looked at his only card left--a blue three--and sighed, pressing the button. No more cards came out. He looked at Riley teasingly and the techie had to press the button himself. Again, no cards were dispensed. With a nervous clearing of the throat, Ben repressed the button. Surprisingly, no cards came out, again. He looked at Riley, who tensed a bit, before pressing the button. To his liking, only one card came out--something that rarely happened. He took the card and tried his best not to smile at his obvious upcoming victory. He had a much better pokerface than Ben did. Ben smiled slightly at the fact that his friend had one more card than him and pressed the button. No cards. Riley cleared his throat and set down a 'wild card'. "Green."

Ben looked horrified, quickly glancing at his lone blue card. He sighed, pressing the button and receiving three more cards. He grumbled to himself, as it was now Riley's turn. The techie set down the green seven he'd been saving with a big, childish smile. "I win." He grabbed the money and stuffed it into the pocket in his checkered pajama pants. "Sorry Ben."

Ben frowned, collecting the cards to shuffle them for a new game. "Rematch." He was determined to win.

"Is there more money involved?" Riley asked, before taking a sip of the fresh orange juice Abigail placed in front of him. "Thank you."

"You guys put that darn thing away already! You've played seven games this morning and Ben, you've already lost like sixty dollars." Abigail sighed, grabbing the card-dispenser and the cards out of Ben's hands, setting them further away on the counter top. She went back to the stove, serving them both their plates of food. She sat down beside them at the table, already digging into her own plate. Riley looked down at the food with wide eyes. "_Wow, _Abi. It actually looks...good. And surprisingly edible." She smirked, playfully smacking him on the arm.

"Oh, shut up. One of these days I'm going to make _you _cook."

Riley shrugged, his face beaming with a proud smile. "Not a problem. I know how to cook."

"Making cereal doesn't count, Riley." Ben laughed.

His young friend shrugged again. "I can make toast too." Abigail laughed along with Ben, as Riley began to pick at his breakfast. Abigail was actually a decent cook. She wasn't the best at it but she would get better, and it definately beat getting a Breakfast Jack from Jack in the Box. He honestly enjoyed when the two invited him over to eat with them. Riley swallowed, then looked back at Abigail, "Or we could just go to Ihop, since you both like to meanly critisize my skills, and I'll pay. I did win all this money this morning. " He said pointedly at Ben, who glared briefly.

Abigail nodded, "Sounds good."

They all continued to eat their breakfast, breaking into short random conversations. A few times Riley's newly gained money was brought up, and Ben had only groaned in response. After a longer conversation about whether Australia was a continent or a country, they had almost finished their meals. Ben was picking at his toast, buttering it softly. Abigail was taking a sip out of her orange juice; and Riley was rambling on about some strange new show he saw yesterday.

"And this little ol' lady started punching the guy in the face, and she had like no mercy--I mean the guy was trying to fight her off and stuff, but she was like made of _steel _or something! And-"

He was interrupted when a slight vibration shook the counter top. They all strained their ears to hear--they could all tell who's phone it was by the way it vibrated.

"Is that me?" Ben asked, his mouth still full of french toast.

Abigail shook her head, "No, it's Riley." She looked at the younger man, who had already gotten up to check his phone. He sighed, reaching the phone as Abigail and Ben resumed eating, and calmly conversing. "_Oh, I almost forgot...today, we need to go to the st-" _Riley blocked out their conversation from that point, glancing at the caller I.D. on the small screen on his cellphone. His mouth twitched into a smile at the name, and he quickly flipped the phone open, holding it up to his ear.

X X X

"Hello?"

"_Riley?"_

"Tory, hey. I haven't heard from you in a couple days. "

"_Yeah, I know. Sorry. I been busy. Had this paper due for school and it took me forever to write it."_

"I understand." Riley said, leaning lazily against the kitchen counter. He was happy to hear from his older sister. They always enjoyed the company of talking with eachother on the phone, which they had been doing more and more often recently, since she had went back to school. "So, what's up?"

"_Are you at home?"_

He briefly looked confused, then shook his head lightly, though it went unseen to her over the phone. "No, I'm at Ben's. We're having a late breakfast."

He could hear her take a shuddering breath, obviously trying to remain calm for him. "Tory?"

"_Riley.....there's....s-something happened."_

Immediately, Riley's smile turned into a concerned frown. He turned away to stare at the stove, so that neither of his friends would see the distress on his face. He could faintly hear them still talking but he didn't try and listen to what it was about.  
"_What _happened?"

His sister sighed, shakily, before clearing her throat. "_Mom had a heart attack this morning."_

Riley nearly dropped the phone. He gasped inaudibly, suddenly feeling very sick. "_W-what?" _He asked quietly in disbelief. Their mother was always healthy and stayed fit, exercising a few times a week. There was no way she could've had a heartattack! Not his mother. He didn't want to believe it, but he could tell by the way his sister was breathing it was no joke. He bit his lip for a moment, comtemplating on what to do. His mind seemed to be in a jam, and he wondered if Ben and Abigail had noticed. He sighed, regaining his mind, and nonchalantly wandered out of the kitchen, into the secluded living room. "What?"

_"I got a call this morning. Ms. James, you know, her friend from across the street, was there with her. She called an ambulance and they took her to the hospital."_

"She....she's okay though, r-right? She-she's gonna be okay?"

"_Riley....she-"_

"Are you sure it was _our _mom?" He pleaded, trying to stay as quiet as possible so neither Ben or Abigail would get worried, but he couldn't help his voice from elevating.

_"Riley." _Tory sighed, "_She--it was pretty bad."_

Riley could sense, in a way, that she was avoiding saying whatever she needed to directly. "S- what? Are you saying she's....n-no, she's okay? Right?"

He could almost picture her shaking her head sadly, and he could hear her sniffle softly. _"She didn't make it, Riles."_

And at that moment, Riley literally did drop the phone. It took a second for his brain to register what had happened, and he immediately fumbled to get it back up to his ear, his hands shaking wildly. He had heard what she said, but didn't understand. "I-I don't know what you m-mean, Tory."

"_She died, Riley. "_

"Are you at the hospital?" He asked, ignoring her last statement. He didn't understand why his sister sounded so calm. Though he could feel the sadness she felt, and he knew she was just trying to be brave for him, he didn't understand how she hadn't broken down yet.

_"No. Her friend just called me. I called you as soon as I found out. There was nothing we could do. She died in the ambulance."_

"......" Riley felt his stomach doing flips. He leaned slightly on the back of the couch, gripping it in fear of collapsing.

"_Riley?"_

"Yeah?"

_"Are you okay?"_

" 'M fine."

_"Well, l-listen...I've got to go to the hospital and talk to them, you know. Gonna give Ms. James a ride back home. D'you wanna come?"_

He shook his head furiously, wanting to deny that the phone call hadn't been real. If he went to the hospital, then he'd realise that it was true. He didn't want to take that risk. "No. I d-don't think that's.....I s-shouldn't." Perhaps he should. He knew that it would've been in his best interest to accompany his sister. But, he couldn't bring himself to. The words were still buzzing around in his head, echoing, _"She didn't make it , Riles.'' _and "_She died, Riley." _He still struggled to grasp the concept as a whole. His mother...heartattack...dead?

She understood completely. "_Okay. Well, uh....I...I guess I'm gonna go now. "_

"When will I see you?"

"_Uh, how about I go to your place after? My apartment is still a little messy. I've got some more boxes I need to finish unpacking, but-"_

_"_What time?" he managed to croak out, still gripping to the couch cushion.

"_Uh, well, I'd say maybe noon-ish. It's ten-twelve right now. I'll go down to the hospital, get things straightended out there, drop Ms. James back at her place and then go take a shower at my place. I don't know for sure when I'll be done but, just be at your place by twelve, okay? I'll send you a text or something to let you know when I'm done."_

"O-okay. Yeah. Good idea."

_"Riley...."_

"Yeah?"

_"Are you sure you're okay?"_

"Hmm. Yeah."

_"....alright. I-"_

"You should pack some clothes for the night. That way you don't have to drive back to your apartment. It's.....supposed to rain again, you know. Dangerous driving conditions."

_"Okay. That sounds like a plan. Do you want me to bring anything for you?"_

"N-no. That's okay."

_"Should I bring Bastet?"_

Riley almost perked up when she mentioned her cat. Riley, being allergic to dogs, was more of a cat person. He adored his sister's cat, and it seemed to like him as well. "Yeah. You can't just....leave her by herself. "

_"True. She'd probably claw up the sofa or something."_

Riley wanted to laugh. "Yeah."

_"Ri...?"_

"Hmm...?"

_"I'm sorry."_

"Me too."

_"I should go, now."_

_"_Be careful."

_"I will."_

"You'd better."

_"I love you."_

"Love you, too."

_"I'll see you later, okay?"_

"Of course. You will. At my place."

_"Yeah, okay...bye."_

"Bye." He said, breathlessly. He waited for her to hang up, listening to the tone for a few moments before flipping his phone shut. He stood still there, his mind gone completely blank. He tried to think of what to do, he wasn't even sure if he was breathing or not, he just couldn't think. He wore a shocked look, his eyes squinted slightly as if he were studying something. He didn't understand. He'd watched the television the other day, some random show about how a young lady had saved an elderly neighbor, who was like family. She had grown up with that lady next door, taking care of her when she was a young child. She said she felt something was wrong and knew that she needed to go over. Riley wondered how he hadn't felt anything. How he and Ben had played Uno like they didn't have any other care in the world...and how, at the same time, his poor mother was dying. He hadn't felt a thing.

He shook his head violently, trying to get rid of the dizziness. He felt like he was going to be sick. But, within a minute he regained his composure, realising he was still in Ben and Abi's livingroom. They were probably wondering what had taken him so long. He bit his lip, taking a deep breath in as he slowly let go of the couch, standing up straight. _Okay, just act normal..._he began to walk back towards the kitchen, _they don't need to know right now...just eat your breakfast, and stay calm...Mom isn't really...dead...no._

He forced a smile onto his face briefly, but it deflated into a flat, blank look. He cleared his throat, shoving the phone in his pocket as he entered the dining area. Ben and Abigail stopped talking momentarily and looked at him as he entered, him desperately trying not to draw any unwanted attention to himself. The last thing he needed was his friends getting on his case. It was none of their business. _Nothing even happened, anyway...._

"Sorry I took so long. A-Abigail, what were you saying?" He said, mentally kicking himself for his brief stuttering as he sat back down in his seat. By now his food had gotten cold but he didn't care. He quickly took a sip of his orange juice, eyes staring blankly at the remaining frenchtoast on his plate, taking a moment to get himself together. When he looked up, Ben and Abigail's eyes met his instantly. Ben had his eyebrows furrowed, carefully studying the younger man. He seemed a bit jittery, and Ben knew that something was wrong, he just didn't know what. He knew better than to pester him though.

Abigail cleared her throat, knowing that the young techie just wanted to go back into their conversation. She tried to think about what they began speaking of when he had left to answer the phone..."Oh, yeah, I need to go to the store and get a few things."

He nodded.

"Who was that?" Ben asked, trying to slip it into the conversation as casually as possible.

"Tory."

Ben nodded, but Abigail gave them both a confused look. Obviously Ben knew who Tory was, but she hadn't a clue. "Who?"

"My sister." Riley supplied.

"Oh." Abigail's face faulted slightly. She never knew Riley had a sister. Heck, she hadn't known much about Riley. Though she considered the man her little brother, and knew lots of things about him, she didn't really _know _about him. She frowned. How could she know him so well, yet hardly know a thing? It was a contradiction in itself. "You never told me you had a sister."

Riley shrugged, leaning back in his chair comfortably to appear more relaxed. "Well, I've always had her."

"Is she older or younger than you?"

"Older. Five years."

"Ah." She said, more to herself than to the men at the table. She shifted, looking back at Ben, who too felt the awkward tension built around their friend. Luckily, Ben seemed to ask what they both had in mind. "Is something wrong, Riley?"

He shook his head, averting his eyes back to his plate. "Naw. Just feel a little sick."

"What's wrong? Does your stomach hurt?" Abigail asked hurriedly. Riley almost regretted mentioning it, since whenever he or Ben ever got an illness, her motherly instincts kicked in. Though he loved it when she took care of him like that. She was a good doctor, and she made a pretty mean chicken noodle soup.

"Sorta. I'll be okay." He timdly pushed the plate away from him and towards the center of the table. "I have to go."

"What do you mean?"

"Tory's coming over. 'M sorry. " He stood up, "Breakfast was great though, Abi. Thank you."

Abigail frowned in confusion. "You're welcome, Riley."

He sighed, shifting his weight onto each foot, as his friends watched him. "Well...uh..okay, I'll...call you later. That way...well, you call me Ben, if you find something out about the cipher. Sorry we couldn't crack it. You can keep the game too, I'll pick it up some other time." He said, already slipping into his hoodie.

"You're not going to change your pants?" Abigail asked him, standing up herself after Ben.

"Nah, I'm comfy." He said, walking towards the door and fishing his keys from the key holder. "'M sorry to run out on you guys like this, but....I'll talk to you guys later?"

Ben nodded, "Okay. Just be careful."

Abigail looked at Riley concerned, as he opened the front door. The sky was a dark gray, and surely the rain was a-coming. "Are you sure you're okay? D'you want us to give you a ride or something?"

Riley smiled sadly, softly shaking his head. "No, that's okay. I'll be fine. I've gotta go."

His friends nodded, "Okay. Drive safely."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

"Bye."

And he shut the door quickly, leaving them standing in confusion.

X X X

As soon as Riley shut the door, he let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding. He shakily removed his hand from the doorknob, and turned around, staring into the gray sky. The clouds were blocking the sun. It fit the mood perfectly. He stuffed his hands into the kangaroo pocket on his gray hoodie and silently walked towards his car, his legs feeling weaker and weaker with each step he took. When he reached the car, he mindlessly hopped into it as usual, and slid the key into the ignition. The familiar roar of the engine brought his mind back to reality, and he forced himself to focus on his driving and not on his mother. He pulled the car out of the driveway and into the street, eyes glued solely to the road ahead. He stayed stiff for the first few minutes, making sure nothing but the road had his full attention but then let himself think about what had happened. His mother was dead.

He sighed, pulling into the main road, and switching lanes. The nice thing was that the Gates' Mansion was a bit of a ways away from the major hussle and bussle of the city, and it was quite calming. He breathed in the fresh air, knowing that he was driving in the opposite direction as to where his apartment was. He knew where he was going, and he wasn't going there.

* * *

A/N: OH GOD! I finally did it. I'm not at all happy with how this turned out. I didn't have that much time to write it, so I didn't have the chance to rewrite what I didn't like. I feel like everything sorta just rushed and it was a tad short, but this was definately the hardest chapter to write. Now that's it over, I can work on the rest, which will be much easier. The other chapters coming will be longer and make more sense. I wanted to end somewhat on a cliffie. Hah. I hope you guys liked it though, because I sure didn't much. Let me know what you think. I'll try to update the next chapter as soon as possible, I'm already working on the writing but not sure when it'll be posted. Just be patient. I really hope you guys liked it though...I'm feeling nervous. It could've been better but it's late here and I'm really running out of time and I wanted to post this and get it out of the way. I'm not so sure how I did with the characters and such. And Tory, well, you'll see her personality within the next few chapters. Her and Riley's conversation was just a bit awkward, so I couldn't really show you all what she was like. Anyway, Poor Riles right? Give him a hug, I wanna. The angst will never cease, so be prepared. Sorry if you were confused by anything, ask me whatever you want I'll do my best to respond. Anyway, review it please, and uh, yeah...ugh...

(nervous smile) please?

Happy reading!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I realize now that I made a mistake in the last chapter. During the card game. I said Ben had gotten more cards in the beginning, then only had one card left, which is incorrect. Hah. I have no idea how the heck I missed that! But, uh, I'm back with the second chapter already. My brother's at work so I'm taking advantage of his computer, lawlz. Thank you to my lone reviewer! (sniffle) Reviews make me happy, you know. My OCD kicks in a lot when I'm here for some reason, ugh. Anyways, although nobody really seemed to read or care about the last chapter, I'm moving on. Mkkay.

Christina is a name I stole from another friend. :)

* * *

Ben and Abigail listened to the familiar sound of the Ferrari Spyder pull out of their drive way.

Turning her gaze to Ben's, in confusion, Abigail sighed, "What was _that _all about?" He merely shrugged in return and they both started back towards the kitchen table. "He seemed really upset. Do you think he's okay?" She asked, as she reached the empty table. Ben took back his seat, as Abigail grabbed Riley's and her plate to begin clearing the table. "I don't know, Abigail. "

It was the truth. He didn't know. They could only guess what had driven their friend to leave so suddenly. "How come I've never heard about this sister of his? What was her name...Tory?"

Ben nodded, clearing his throat. "She's uh, well I don't know much about her, either. She and Riley are five years apart, like he said. She lives...somewhere around here. Just moved into a new apartment I think. Riley said he was helping her move some boxes a while ago. I've only met her once, and it was very brief, but that's all I know."

"Still more than I ever did." Abigail huffed, gently placing the plates into the sink.

"You know Riley. He doesn't ever talk about his family. He always changes the subject when it comes up and I never had the idea to ask about his sister. I think she just started school again, so she hasn't seen him in a while, but I know they talk on the phone quite often. "

"Well, I just think I would've heard about her by now. I've known him for how long?"

Ben nodded, understanding what she meant. Though the two had known a lot about their younger friend, they both realized that they didn't know enough. The kid had been over practically everyday working with Ben, and Abigail never minded. She knew all the little things that peeved him off, all the things that excited him....but, had she really _known _him? She thought back to when they first met, the three of them in her office, a few years ago. She had thought they were both insane, but had fallen in love with them in different ways for different reasons. Riley, she loved like a little brother, although the two constantly bickered endlessly.

"It's just weird, you know. How much do we actually know about Riley? He's your bestfriend, Ben."

"I know that, Abigail." Ben said, "the kid just doesn't open up! He's stubborn. " Riley never had a problem with announcing to the world when his bladder was full, but when it came to more stronger feelings, he shut them out instantly. "It's not like I haven't tried before. "

He half expected Abigail to tell him to try harder, but she remained quiet. She gave a face of concern, as she retrieved the three empty cups from the table and brought them back over to the sink. "You're worried." She didn't respond, only continued to clear the table. Ben sighed and shifted slightly in his seat, eyes watching her. He would admit he was worried as well. It wasn't like Riley to run off like that, something had obviously upset him. Although what it was- Ben wasn't sure. His mind told him to be concerned, but the other side of his brain told him to calm down. _You don't know if anything's wrong. _Riley _had _said his sister was coming over. So, that explains why he had to leave. _Then why did he look so withdrawn?_

"Of course I'm worried, Ben! You saw him! What if he really is sick?"

"He had to go home, Abigail. His sister is going over, remember?"

"Don't tell me you're not worried."

"Of course I am!" Ben said loudly, "but you know how he gets. He doesn't like it when we jump on his back like that. He's an adult. If he needs something, he knows he can call us." Usually Ben was first to jump to conclusions and wonder about his friend's safety. He had a special relationship with the kid that Abigail didn't have. He hated to admit he felt a little seperation anxiety when he wasn't around for a while.

Abigail finished with the table, and leaned against the counter. "I know. It's just..."

"_Riley. _I know." Ben said, standing up and walking towards her. He put his arms around her, wrapping her into a warm hug. "I'll call him a little later and ask what's up, okay?"

She nodded, resting her head against his shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too." he told her, lifting her head to give her a quick kiss. "What time did you want to go to the store, again?"

"Oh! Thank you for reminding me!" She said, breaking away from him, "Riley's been complaining that we don't have any food around here. I told him it was because he ate it all. Besides, I need all those over things I told you about earlier." She explained, as they both walked to the staircase and towards their bedroom. "They're counting on me for the food and drinks and anything that goes along with that." Her co-worker was having a babyshower, and Abigail had offered to help with anything since the woman's last party-planner had flaked on her.

Ben wondered why they hadn't asked them to have the party at their mansion. He mentally shrugged and pushed the bedroom door open, letting her enter before he did. He didn't bother shutting the door behind him as she made her way towards the dresser, pulling the second drawer open. "It's next week, right?" he asked her.

"The 23rd."

"So, next week then." He wandered into the bathroom.

She turned to him, already holding up her clean shirt of choice.

He peeked his head out of the bathroom, smiling, tooth brush in hand.

X X X

Tory Poole sighed, hanging up the phone. It was one of the most difficult conversations she'd ever had. She sat there on her blue couch for a few moments, building up the strength to push herself off. The thirty year old scrambled towards her bedroom, her socks sinking into the fresh beige carpet of her new apartment. She pushed the door open, unconsciously stepping over a small box that contained some old magazines and books. She glanced around the room, spotting her black Converse -much like her brother's- laying by her bed. She scurried over, picking it up and fishing its' partner from under the bed. Sighing, she flopped herself on the edge of the bed and quickly slipped on her shoes, not bothering to untie them.

She couldn't believe it. Her mother, who seemed healthy enough, had died. That very morning. The same lively woman who she talked with on the phone yesterday about her report for her class. She seemed fine. Tory sighed, for what felt like the 17th time in the past twenty minutes since she had heard the news, and stood up. She could remember every little detail about when she got the phone call. She was playing tetris, watching some cartoons. Her phone rang and she answered it like she always did, on the 4th ring. She hadn't ever expected to get a phone call from her mother's friend. She and Riley both had met her numerous times before but never considered her one of their favorite people. The feeling was mutual.

When she recieved the call, she had been completely clueless on how to react.

Ms. Lydia James was almost hysterical and kept apologizing as if it had been her fault. Tory shook her head to focus, pausing her game on the Xbox in her living-area. She had to ask Ms. James to _please _repeat herself, hoping she'd heard her wrong. Sadly, she realized that it wasn't just a joke. Her mother's friend, had been there that morning, while Christina Poole -her and Riley's mother- had a heart attack. The older woman explained that she and her mother were getting ready to head out to the shopping center. Their mother had went into her bedroom to change, and after waiting for her for a little longer than needed, she wandered in and spotted the woman on the floor.

She did her best to stay calm and call the ambulance. Unfortunately, it was a strong attack and Christina Poole had passed away soon after the ambulance took her away.

Tory frowned, biting her lip to keep the oncoming tears away. She knew she could cry, that it would be best to get it out of the way, but somehow she felt it wasn't time just yet. The shock was still there and it hadn't fully hit her yet that their mother passed away. She was closer to her mother than Riley was, mostly because she was female and therefore could bond more easily with her. She remembered the times when her mother would take her out to the stores with her shopping. She always enjoyed those times. Still, Riley and her mother had a good relationship and it broke her heart to pick up the phone and dial his number.

She wiped her eyes, and the tears instantly stopped. She had to be strong for her little brother. She had things to do. She scooped up her keys from the nighstand and shoved them into the pocket in her black jeans. Grabbing a hoodie with one hand, she stomped out of the bedroom, slamming the door shut with the other free hand.

It was going to be a long day.

X X X

Riley cleared his throat, reaching over for the radio. He turned it on, skimming through the channels to find a song that hadn't made his mood even darker than what it felt like. He couldn't believe what was happening. A few times, he grabbed at his phone, carefully looking through his recent calls to make sure that Tory had actually called him--all while still driving on the rode. He shut the phone off and threw it down into the passenger seat with a groan. _No, no....._

He hoped maybe it was a nightmare. He pinched himself and to his disliking, he felt the pain. _Awake?_

He wondered whether or not to just turn around and go straight home, but each time thought better of it and continued on his way. He knew exactly where he was going. And, he hadn't been there in months.

Sighing, he momentarily contemplated just pulling over to the side. He didn't feel like driving anymore. His mind was completely blank, desperately trying not to think about the morning's events, and how he had stormed out of Ben and Abigail's house. But he shook his head and urged himself onwards. He reached over and changed the radio station once more. Every song that was playing seemed to have the same sad feeling, and within a minute of searching he shut it off angrily. _I should just....wake up now. That'd be good. _

Wondering if maybe he was in a deeper sleep, he came up with a short list of ideas. If he could have somebody punch him in the face _really _hard, then perhaps he'd wake up. Of course, there was the possibility of him just being knocked unconscious. Honestly, he would've liked it either way. He could always just swerve into a tree or something. A crash like that would _definately _wake somebody up. Or kill them. He ruled it out. He wasn't going to try. He'd stick to the punching in the face.

He continued to drive silently, fighting off the inner battles of sudden nausea. He could feel a lump forming in his throat, and knew his face was slowly morphing into an even more down trodden one. _No, _he told himself bitterly, _you're not going to cry. You're driving! _But regardless of what he wished, a single tear trinkled down his cheek and plummeted onto his lap. He used the arm of his sweater to rid his unclear eyes of tears, groaning softly. _Damnit, stop that! You're not a baby. _But it seemed the more he yelled at himself....

....the more his eyes retaliated.

He never wanted to claw his eyes out more than then.

A choked sob escaped him, and he quickly cleared his throat. He was not crying. He was not. He switched lanes, getting ready to exit the freeway with relief. His destination wasn't much further away.

X X X

The time seemed to pass as quick as ever. Tory had arrived at the hospital, spoken to numerous people getting things straightened out and had already dropped Ms. James off at her place. She tried her best not to stare helplessly at her mother's house across the street as the older woman thanked her again, and muttered an "I'm sorry."

Tory nodded in response but said nothing. She pulled her cellphone out from her pocket and looked at the small screen, checking the time. She stuffed the phone back and backed the car out of the driveway. She still had to go to her apartment and take a shower, pack her bag for the night and shuffle herself - and of course Bastet- over to Riley's place. She needed to be with her brother more than ever. She felt guilty enough when she had called him. She sped up enough so she could make it to her apartment as quickly as possible.

After a few minutes, she decided to fish her phone out again and dial her brother's number, eyes glued to the road. She held the phone loosely up to her ear, listening to the continuous ringing. She silently cursed, ending the call after his voice mail answered. She never really liked leaving voice messages. She couldn't help feel worried immediately as to why Riley hadn't answered the phone, but knew it wasn't uncommon to miss a phone call. If he didn't call her back in a few minutes she'd try again.

X X X

Abigail tossed two large packages of napkins into her cart, sighing. She had almost forgotten how much things she needed for the party. When she created the list it had come out much longer than she originally anticipated. Still, she was aware that she had personally volunteered to do it and was certain she was going to do a great job.

"Cross napkins off the list."

Ben did so, looking down at the list in his hand. "That's the last of it for the party."

"Thank God." Abigail moaned, grabbing the list from his hands. She double checked it to make sure then stuffed it into her purse, Ben grabbing hold of the shopping cart and starting down the aisle. "Now, we can pick up _our _groceries. We need cereal. That's in the next aisle."

He nodded and pushed the cart into the next aisle, eyeing the selection they had. "Okay, you want Mini Wheats, right?" he asked, grabbing a box and dumping it into the cart without waiting for her reply. He also grabbed a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and a box of Captain Crunch. Cereal was something the Gates _family _ran out of first, beside milk. Riley had told them quite clearly that cereal was 'eatable' all throughout the day, and breakfast in general was better at night. He had to rearrange the cart to fit the boxes of cereal in.

"Captain Crunch?"

He heard Abigail asked, as she picked the box up from the cart.

"Ben, this is pure sugar."

He shrugged and nodded. "I know. But, it's Riley's favorite." He purpously left out the part that he enjoyed them himself.

She shook her head, handing the box to him. "Exactly. Last thing Riley needs is more sugar. Put it back."

He almost panicked. "Abigail, come on. It's just cereal." He wanted it. He pulled on the box lightly out of her grasp.

She glared at him for a moment, playfully, then threw her hands up in mock defeat, not wanting to play tug of war.. "Fine then, you win!" she said breathlessly, shaking her head as she watched him stuff the box into its spot in the cart again. "I swear you already spoil him enough."

"Abigail, this cereal makes Riley happy. '' He said matter-of-factly. "And, if Riley doesn't have _said cereal_ " he motioned to it with his hand, " then we have a very cranky Riley, and I know you don't want that. I'm thinking ahead. For you."

She smirked, smacking him on the arm. "Such a charming gentleman."

"It's that charming gentleman that you fell in love with."

Abigail rolled her eyes, "Oh please." He gave her a fake look of hurt and she turned, kissing him on the cheek. " Tell me something I don't know."

"We need coffee."

She grumbled to herself momentarily. "I bought some coffee the other day, Ben."

"I realize that, but did _you _realize that me and Riley have been working very hard figuring out that cipher, and neither of us function very well without coffee."

"Which reminds me, you need to call _said friend. _" She led him down the aisle, towards the dairy section, " and I need to sign you both up for Caffein-a-holics Anonymous, as Riley would say."

Ben chuckled, "I think he _did _say that the other day."

"Send him a text message."

He looked at her, as she reached for a gallon of milk. "Why?"

"Because if he's sick, then he's going to be helpless all by himself!"

"Not entirely." He tried, but saw the brief look Abigail gave him when she placed the gallon of milk into the shopping cart. "Fine, I'll text him."

She nodded and he pulled his phone from his pocket, flipping it open and going straight to his contacts. He clicked on 'Riley Cell' and started to type.

_Hey Riley. Just wanted to see how you were doing. Abigail is ready to play doctor if need be._

He watched the screen switch from Sending Message to Message Sent, and stuffed the phone back into his pocket. "Okay. What else do we need?"

"Why don't you just ask Riley? He's the one who eats everything anyways."

* * *

A/N: gah, I didn't really want to end it there but my brother is on his way home and I know if I don't just post this now, then I won't get to it later and I don't want that so, yah, sorry if there are any mistakes. This chapter sucked too, I know. Stuff will start happening in the next chappie. Review it please! :)


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: hey hey :)! i hope you like this chapter! and because i'm currently eating Halloween Peeps, i'm happy to say i'm going to be working on a series of holiday stories! i'm not sure if they'll be oneshots or not. i hardly know what i'm doing, just that i want to write a story for those major holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. If you have any ideas you'd like to see written then please tell me! I have no clue what to do! Help!

Oh, in other news, I'm excited to say I went to Borders yesterday and ordered the Book of Secrets novelizition plus the first two books in the Gates Family Mystery series. I'm a nerd, yeah. Oh, and picked up a copy of Common Sense. -__- Shh. My mom found me in the Government & Politics section, hah! Oh, and they told me I had to be 18 to work there. Sad! Darn this youth of mine. So, I have to search for a job to last me a couple years until I'm old enough. (grumbles to self). Enjoy the story.

P.S. I didn't have anything creative to call the diner so I took the last name of Anthony Bourdain from the show No Reservations. I hope he doesn't mind.

* * *

Tory found herself at her apartment quicker than she had expected. Not that she was complaining or anything....

Just as she told herself earlier, she tried her brother's cellphone again, only to be met with the answering machine. She sighed and plucked the keychain from her belt loop, inserting the key into its slot. The morning was proving to be exhausting already and she was more than happy to be home, so she could get her things together and go to Riley's. If there was anytime they needed eachother, it was now. As she closed the door behind her, she tossed the keys onto the couch carelessly.

Her mind was flooded with memory after memory, some good some bad. She remembered how it was when they were younger and how little they knew about death. Sadly, the two of them were forced to understand it after an incident that left the once family of five, a family of three. Things like this were supposed to get easier as you grew older, she once heard. That once you understand what death and life are all about, it would make sense. She didn't think so at all. When you're little and loose somebody, you just think they've gone away- on some sort of vacation to a 'better place'. - she would imagine people going to Disneyland or something. Easier that way.

No, when you finally understood that these people had just stopped living....well, it wasn't as nice.

As if on auto-pilot, Tory stumbled into her bedroom, grabbed a change of clothes from her drawer and made her way into the bathroom. She shut the door behind her and undressed herself, stepping into the shower while fixing the water to a nice warm temperature. As she began to wet her hair, she couldn't shake the feeling that just yesterday ( and this very morning, for that matter) her mother was alive and well. She realized how valuable life was and how easy it was to have it taken away. Christina Poole did not deserve to have her life taken away, yet. It was not her time.

The victim of a sudden, freak heart attack that nobody could have predicted.

Tory momentarily wondered when she was going to die. It could very well be on the way to her brother's apartment. She could slip and fall in the shower and sustain a bad head injury. She could bleed to death. She shook the image out of her head vigurously and grabbed the shampoo. It wasn't a pleasant thought. Yet, when somebody dies, death is a thought that lingers in your head. As unpleasant as it is, you can't get it out of there. You begin to wonder who else died this morning. If anybody else feels what you feel...

She scrubbed at her head, knowing the answer. Of course. Was it selfish to think that people didn't feel that way? That other children weren't suffering as well from the loss of a parent? That she almost wanted people to feel bad for her brother and herself? She knew it was. She had gone through dealing with death before -hell, she almost died herself! At the time she was only about 10 or 11 years old. She was so relieved when she was released from the hospital after being 'captive' there for what felt like too long.

It seemed she thought about that day everyday. Whenever she merely spoke to her brother, especially when she was with him in person, it reminded her of that moment in time when everything seemed to stop. When their lives changed forever. To see a spitting imagine of somebody you once had in your life- well, it doesn't allow you to ever forget.

Rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, she could feel the tears coming. She didn't bother stopping them, just letting them run as needed. She often felt sad when she thought about things of the past. The childhood the three Poole children had taken away. It wasn't fair. And sadly, thousands of other kids were having to live with the same problems.

Turning the flowing water off, she grabbed for a towel and ran it over her face. She had to get to Riley.

X X X

The young man in question had( much to his relief) regained control over his tear glands. Dry tear marks streaked across his cheek reminding him that he'd lost it for a minute. Thankfully, nobody was there to witness it. He coughed, pulling the car into the small and rather empty parking lot. It had been some months since he'd visited the place and was glad to see that it still was the same as when he had left it. He parked the car, shut off the engine and stowed the keys into his pocket. He lightly cursed, feeling that he should've listened to Abigail and changed into normal pants.

But, him with his checkered-pajama glory pushed forward, walking straight towards the door of the Bourdain Diner.

Memories filled his head as he pushed the door open, hearing the familiar _ding _of the small bell that alerted them when they had another customer. His eyes verted around hurriedly, noting there was only two more people there; one reading a newspaper in a booth by the big window and the other on a stool, drinking coffee. Just like ever, the diner never had been so popular. It was in a less occupied part of town, or rather on the outskirts of civilization, it seemed. It was almost hidden. Riley had always liked it that way. And somehow, they never managed to go out of business.

The man in the booth looked up from his newspaper, acknowledged the young pajama-clad man's presence then looked back to his paper.

Riley cleared his throat, giving a last weak attempt of wiping the dry streaks on his face with the backside of his hand and trudged forwards, taking a seat on a stool not four away from the older gentlemen with the coffee. Said man looked over, and Riley forced a sad smile, nodding his head in a way of greeting. The man nodded back and returned to his coffee. Outside, the sky had turned a nasty dark gray, and Riley noticed the ground was already being speckled with thick raindrops. He glanced back over at his car, and was about to get up, when a voice he knew quite well spoke out in surprise.

"Riley!"

He whirled the stool around quickly, allowing a true small smile to form as he locked eyes with an older woman.

The woman, most likely in her late 40's with black hair and a rather faded blue uniform, stepped out from the kitchen --the door still swinging wildly behind her. She smiled widely, looking the boy over, her expression mixed with surprise and happiness. "Riley!" she said again, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's nice to see you again!"

The other gentlemen seemed oblivious to the loud exchange, continuing to boredly drink their coffee and read.

He nodded slightly, still wearing a look of genuine happiness and relief to see his friend. Her name tag, as old as her outfit, read 'Janice' in bold letters. She approached the counter, and leaned over as much as possible, engulfing him into a hug. She broke away, still holding his arms and looked him over more closely. "What're you doin' here?"

"What- there has t' be a reason for me to visit my friend?" Riley asked, struggling to get the sarcastic tone in.

She shook her head and released his arms, handing him a menu. " 'Course not!"

He took the menu, skimming over it. There weren't any new items on it this time, and he placed it down on the countertop in front of him. "I'll take my usual, Jan."

Janice nodded, a smirk creeping onto her face. "I knew you would." He cleared his throat, forcing himself to keep a straight, glad-to-see-you face, instead of the sad frown that was trying to claw it's way over. She scribbled something hastily onto a small white post-it note and stuck it up by a medium-sized window, for the people in the kitchen to see.

"Now, what brings you here, my boy?"

He looked back at her, barely realizing she'd ask him a question and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, what?"

"What brings you here?" She asked, leaning slightly on the counter, her arms crossed over her chest. She tilted her head to the side comically, "You're not running away again, are you?"

Riley tried to hide that shocked look he wanted to give her, then shrugged. "You could say that." In attempt to reassure her everything was alright, he shook his head softly, hardly enough for her to notice, and shot her his signature charming grin. Being around Janice was always a comforting thing. He found the irony in the situation humorous. How she had just asked if he were running away-- the exact reason they had ever met in the first place.

He remembered that day easily. When he was at the mere age of nine (and a _half_- he had proudly stated), and had just moved into the area. After a terrible first day at school, being the new kid, Riley had dumped the contents from his backpack onto his bedroom floor and promptly re-stuffed it with two shirts and one clean pair of underwear. Not to mention the wind-up robot toy, and a few comic books. He hardly knew his way around but still, with $4.72 in his pants pocket, he did his best to 'run away'.

He took off, not bothering to leave a message to his mother and sister.

After wandering around for two hours, he wound up sitting with a nice lady named Janice in the Bourdain Diner. She wore her hair up, and she smiled kindly at him. She even gave him a nice bowl of miso soup on the house - which later became his 'usual' -since he didn't have much money. After much subtle probing, she got a home phone number out of him and called his mother to pick him up. After those forty-five minutes together with that sad little boy, her heart had already made a place for him. She told him to visit again - of course, on different standards- and he promised he would.

She ruffled his hair goodbye, watching them through the big window as they climbed into their car.

That very same boy she'd met that cold October afternoon had grown up into a charming young man she was proud of knowing. Throughout the remainder of his childhood, he had spent a lot of his time with her in the diner. She enjoyed his company, and he had even been allowed to go back in the kitchen and help her. He always thought it as a fun way to spend the day, albeit tiresome.

Whenever he had a problem, he knew she was the right person to go to. She was the wisest person Riley had ever met and he admired her greatly. She played a part in his life like no other. And despite the age difference, he saw her as a friend, rather than a babysitter.

He'd been so lost in thought that she had to physically tap him on the shoulder to get his attention.

He blinked, looking up at her confused. She fed back a worried frown. "Are you okay?"

He nodded too quickly, increasing the worriedness in her expression; her forehead creasing. "Yeah, sorry. I was just....thinkin'."

"About what?" She questioned.

"When my soup was going to be ready." He smirked, receiving a mild smile in return. _Nice save....._

"You real hungry or what?" she chuckled, " No, wait. Don't answer that. You're _always _hungry."

He shrugged shyly, "You know me so well."

"Yeah, well enough." She nodded in agreement. "And well enough to know when something's bothering you."

He looked at her, slightly taken aback at the forwardness of her statement, but let his faux smile crumble into a frown. "_You know me so well...."_

X X X

Tory, now comfortably dressed in loose jeans and a band T-shirt, tied her hair up into a ponytail. She looked in the mirror, admiring her black Rolling Stones tee that Riley had given her for Christmas last year, and shut the drawer under the sink. Flicking the lightswitch down and off, she rushed into her bedroom, leaving the bathroom door open in case her dark coated cat needed to use the litterbox. She saw the fluffly cat perched just below her pillow on the bed, licking at its paws.

She smiled, watching it groom itself for a moment. The cat had grown into a decent size- not too big nor too small- since she'd gotten it about four months back. The reason she'd moved apartments was halfly because the manager had discovered the kitten(which she'd properly named _Bastet_- after the cat goddess and daughter of _Re, _the sun god in ancient Egyptian theory) she'd stowed away, and firmly told her they had a No Pets Allowed policy and to get rid of it or find a new place to live. The other half was to be closer to her brother, closer to school, and just because she needed a bigger place.

Tory was content with the new apartment she'd gotten, and was eager to move into it. Her and Riley spent days packing and moving in all her things. She smiled slightly, remembering what her brother had said about her having so many things.

_Riley threw the empty roll of tape onto the couch, tiredly. "Ran out of tape _again_, Tory."_

_She looked up from across the room, where she was busy piling boxes on top of others. She nodded and looked around, finding another roll beside her foot. She picked it up and tossed it to him. He caught it clumsily with a sigh. "You're lucky you're my sister and I love you."_

_She glanced at him, eyebrows up in an amused way, urging him to elaborate._

_"Or else I wouldn't help you with all this. You've got more stuff than the department store down the street."_

_"You mean Clydes?" She asked, huffedly. "You're comparing my apartment to Clydes?"_

_He nodded pointedly. "Don't worry though. You're a girl. You're entitled to a bunch of useless junk."_

_"Hey!" she barked, stifling a laugh, " just because I have a lot of stuff doesn't make it _useless. _" _

_He peered into an open box next to him and dug through it, pulling out an old broken camera. He held it up to prove his point. She shrugged, coming over to him and plucking the camera out of his grasp with a groan. "You know, this was my favorite camera once!"_

_"And that means you should keep it?"_

_"Now you're catching on." She said, patting him on the head lightly. He shook his head and smiled up at her._

Tory giggled with fondness, "I am _not _a pack-rat." The cat's ears perked up, and its head shot in her direction. She gave the cat a suspicious look, "Am I?"

The cat stared for another moment, then resumed licking itself. Tory sighed, moving towards her dresser and pulling out another T-shirt for tomorrow, along with a larger shirt for pajamas. She pushed the drawer closed, tossing the shirts onto the bed -landing beside the startled cat- and opened the drawer right below it, searching for some shorts.

After acquiring the things she needed, she grabbed the pajama pants from her bed and stuffed all the clothing items into a nice, small duffel bag. She left the bag unzipped on her bed, so she could wander into the kitchen and grab a Ziploc bag for her toothbrush, and another to put some cat food into. She was very attached with her cat, and somehow Riley had become extremely fond of it. Whenever he was over, he took to the cat immediately, it purring on his lap. She knew having the kitty there with them would be a nice emotional booster for them both.

Which reminded her, she should call Riley and let him know she was almost ready. She had called him twice before she had gotten into the shower, and the second time he didn't answer made her worry even more than before. She told herself to relax, that he was fine and on his way home and couldn't answer the phone in the car. He was trying to play it safe. She thought it was a legit reason, although she knew he talked on the phone and often texted while driving. She had instructed him not to.

_Maybe he's listening to you for once?_

She told herself it must have been the case and focused on taking a shower.

She grabbed the phone, which she had earlier placed on the bed, and put the Ziploc bags into her duffel. Dialing Riley's number without a glance at the keys - something she'd learned to do what with calling him so often- she grabbed a small blue squeeky rat toy from the floor, also settling it into her bag for the cat.

Again, the voice mail machine answered instead of Riley, and she felt her stomach swirl. _Nothing's wrong..._she said mentally, waiting for his voice to cease, _he's okay._

She decided to leave him a message, which she only did on rare occasions, and listened for the _beep. _"Hey, Riley...Pick up the phone, mister! Uh, I'm almost ready here. I've been trying to call you but I don't know if you've got your phone off or lost it or if you're trying to ignore me or something but....I just wanted you to know that I'll be over soon and you need to call me back when you get this message, okay?"

She sounded as if she were addressing a six year old at the last statement, " Erm, okay. I'm gonna go now. I love you. Byeeee."

She hung up, hoping that he would call her back within a few minutes. She held the phone tightly in her hands, while she finished up packing her things. With a quick fluid glance at the clock, she slipped into a jacket (not bothering to zip it up) and grabbed for her Converse. Again, she slipped then on without untying them and scooped the cat up quickly.

"Come on, Bastet. Let's go see Riley."

X X X

Riley wondered if Janice had mind-reading powers or something, because she did this everytime he came with a troubling thought on his mind.

She read through him like a book, much like his sister could. "What's wrong?"

He shrugged, struggling to find the right words to explain. She was a rather close friend to his mother's as well as her sisters. The news would surely break her heart, but she deserved to know. To his surprise, Riley was saved from the awkward silence that followed, by the man beside them on the stool. "Hey, could I get another cup of coffee?"

Janice's eyes flowed slowly from Riley's to the man and nodded, taking a few steps over and reaching for the still-hot coffee pot. He thanked her, holding his cup out so she could pour him some more. Apparently, Riley noted, the man drank it black. Something Riley didn't like to do in the least.

But his relief was short lived when Janice appeared in front of him, staring intently at his face. "Now, what's going on?"

Riley cleared his throat, looking sideways at the man, silently begging him to interuppt again. The man payed no attention. Sighing, Riley looked back at the woman and gave her a miserable half smile. "My uh....mom had a heart attack this morning." He couldn't recognize if he'd ever used that tone of voice before. Saying the phrase to someone else made his stomach hurt.

Just like he expected, Janice's face exploded into a million different expressions: starting with shock, then sympathy, and settling with a frown. "Oh my god. Is she alright?"

He shook his head gravely, not daring to look the lady in the eyes.

"She passed away already." He explained, "Tory called me this morning when I was at a friend's house and told me."

"Was she there with her?" She asked softly.

Riley shook his head. "No, she got a call from our mom's friend at the hospital."

"Honey...I'm so sorry." She said, consoling-like. Without a second to spare, she rounded the corner, exiting the 'employee only' section and went straight for him. She grabbed him and hugged him tightly, feeling bad herself. That day she had met Riley and called his mother, she became good friends with the woman.

She held him, rubbing his back softly. "She was such a good person. She knows you love her, too. So stop feeling guilty about not being there, alright?" She demanded, although softly. Again, Riley wondered if she was a mind reader. He clung to her, already feeling that lump forming into his throat.

"It's just....I don't know..." He tried. She shook her head, pulling away from him and rubbing his shoulder.

"Don't think like that, Riley. She knows you loved her. She is always going to love you no matter what you think. You might've not been there when it happened but neither was Tory. I know you wish you were there. I wish I could have been there, too. I'm going to miss your mom so much. But, you need to know that I'm proud of you and she's proud of you and I'll be there for you whenever you need me to be."

He looked into her eyes, listening.

"And so is that sister of yours. " _You're not alone, _is what he knew she meant. "And I know those friends you spoke so fondly about are going to be there for you, too."

Riley winced slightly, instantly remembering how he'd stormed out of Ben and Abigail's house earlier that morning and frowned deeper. "Is that soup ready yet?"

She smiled sympathetically, going back around the side and peeking her head into the kitchen door. She looked back at him with a slight nodd and said, "I'll be right back."

" 'Kay." He watched her disappear behind the swinging door, although he could faintly see her in the kitchen window before she turned out of sight. Riley glanced back at the man beside him, who had obviously heard the conversation but said nothing. Then, he looked back at the man sitting in the booth by the window. The man caught Riley's stare and briefly glanced at him sadly, before turning his attention back to his paper. Riley never understood what was so special about newspapers, anyway.

To his surprise, Janice arrived quickly, with a nice bowl of hot soup. She placed it on the counter in front of him and he smiled at it, "Thank you."

"No problem, honey." She said, nodding. She watched him, spooning the soup into his mouth after blowing on it. "Are you going to be okay?"

He shrugged lightly, setting the spoon down into the bowl. "I guess so."

"What about Tory? How's she holdin' up?"

Riley looked up at Janice, wondering what in the world his sister was doing. Probably going crazy with concern he figured, remembering he'd shut his phone off in the car. "I uh...dunno." In his head, he knew that she was trying to get a hold of him, and by now she'd be heading towards his apartment, cat in tow. He felt even guiltier about it now.

"You haven't talked to her?"

"Not since this morning, no."

Janice sighed, "D'you want me to give her a call?"

"No, no." Riley mumbled, shaking his head. He didn't want to think what Tory would say after he'd practically ignored everyone else. His stomach was angry with guilt, sorrow, and any other possible emotion the human body was capable of feeling. Some of them he never knew he could ever feel.

He was sad that his mother had died. He was angry that she'd left them like that, angry that Tory had called him and that his nice morning that been ruined. Which made him in return feel more guilty that he wanted to blame it on his mother for ruining it. That he wanted to blame his sister for calling him, and wanted to blame Ms. James for calling _her. _He felt mad at himself for feeling mad at everyone else and that he wasn't there to tell her he loved her, and to help her, or anything. He wanted to be there for her.

And now, he felt even guiltier for dropping off the face of the Earth like that (even if it wasn't that long), when his sister needed him the most.

He couldn't bring himself to talk to her _now. _Now that he'd hurt her like that.

"She's probably worried, Riley."

"I know she is." He muttered, taking a spoonful of his soup.

"You need to call her." She said, knowingly.

"After I finish eating."

Janice sighed loudly, leaning back against the counter again.

X X X

Ben closed the kitchen cupboard, relieved in finally having finished putting away all of the bless-ed groceries.

Abigail turned around, smiling lightly. "There. All done. Now I can start making lunch. D'you want a sandwich?"

Ben nodded, grabbing a water bottle from the counter top and almost chugging it with pure thirst. They ended up buying a lot more groceries than they had expected, along with the items they needed for the baby shower Abigail was helping with, and it had taken not less than twenty minutes to find a spot for it all. _Riley's going to be very happy._

"Ham or turkey?" Abigail asked him.

"I guess ham." She nodded, already setting out napkins. "You know, they really should be paying you for all this stuff you bought for them."

Abigail stifled a laugh, agreeing. "Yeah, well....pregnant women like food, Ben. "

"I like food, too. Does that make me pregnant?"

She glanced at him, reaching for the loafs of bread. "No. Although that reminds me, when we showed up at your father's door...."

Ben groaned in his head, _Oh, here it goes again..._

Luckily, he was saved from the common whining when his phone rang in his pocket. He wondered if maybe it was Riley and eagerly pulled it out checking the caller I.D. as Abigail watched on. His brows furrowed, not recognizing the number but answered it anyways, holding the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"_Uh, is this Ben Gates?"_

Ben hoped it wasn't another interviewer. "Yes. May I ask who's calling?"

The young lady on the other line cleared her throat before responding, her voice shaking slightly. "_It's Tory. Uh, Riley's sister_." She wasn't sure if Ben would remember her from when they had met the year before.

Ben was clearly shocked to get a call from her, "Oh, yeah. Hello."

"_Sorry, I got your number from Riley's phone book. "_

"It's fine. Is something wrong?"

_"I was just wondering if Riley was maybe over there with you?"_

Ben shook his head, but remember that she couldn't see the gesture and said, "No. He spent the night here but left this morning. Said you were going over to his place and left in a hurry."

_"Oh."_

"Is something wrong?"

"_I can't get a hold of him."_

"You tried calling him?"

"_I've only become_ best friends_ with his answering machine. I think his phone might be off or something_."

"Hmm." Ben mused, frowning slightly. "Well, I'm sure he's fine. Where are you?"

"_I'm at his apartment. I've been here for the past twenty-five minutes. I let myself in with the key he gave me but he's not here_..."

"Is his car there?"

"_No._ " She said, worriedly.

"I don't know what to tell you. I haven't heard from him all morning either. I sent him a text earlier but he didn't reply."

_"What if something happened to him?"_

"Look- do you want me to give him a call for you?"

_"Yes, if you don't mind._.." She sighed, "_and if you get a hold of him, would you tell him to please call me right aw_ay?"

"Of course."

_"Thank you. And, I'm sorry to bother you."_

"It's no trouble at all, really."

_"Alright. Thanks again."_

"No problem. "

_"Bye."_

"Bye."

Ben hung up the phone confused, and looked up to see Abigail staring intently at him, with concern. "Who was that? What's wrong?"

"It was Riley's sister. She's having trouble getting a hold of him and asked if he was here. I told her I'd call him."

Abigail bit her lip, thinking back to how Riley had left in the morning. "Is she at his place already?"

Ben nodded, "Yeah. She's been waiting there but he hasn't answered her. Hold on." He dialed Riley's cellphone number and listened to the ringing, before Riley's perky answering machine began. Ben cleared his throat, ready to leave a message. "Hey, Riley. It's Ben. You're sister called me. She's worried about you. So, call me or her when you get his message. Bye."

"Do you think he's alright?" Abigail asked him when he hung up, slowly going back to her sandwich-making.

Ben shrugged, " I hope so. He might very well be on his way home right now."

"Ben, he left a long time ago. " She said, "And you saw how weird he was acting when he got off the phone with her. He decided to leave right away and didn't even finish his breakfast!"

"I'll call her back and let her know." He sighed, looking up the number and redialing it. She picked up after the first ring.

_"Hello?"_

"Hey, it's Ben."

_"Did you call him?"_

"Yeah, didn't get a hold of him though. I left him a message."

"_Oh, God."_

"What's wrong?"

"_Oh, nothing....except my brother's missing."_

"I think you'd better calm down. You don't know if he's missing. I'll keep trying to reach him, okay?"

"_Ben....I-I'm sorry...you're right. It's just....well, I really need to see him right now. I just want to know he's okay."_

"I'm sure he's fine, Tory. He's a big boy. He can survive an hour or two alone."

"_Ben, you don't understand...."_

Ben frowned. "What do you mean?"

_"Our mother died this morning..."_

_

* * *

_

A/N: Ugh. I like this chapter better than the other ones, it's longer too. But, I don't _love _love it. I didn't want to say where Riley was because I wanted to build suspenes and make you all think that he went all uber-emo and vanished, but that would be stupid and I feel it sorta came off lame-ish. Sorry to disappoint. Anyways, I hoped you like this chapter and Janice. She's a nice lady! And did anyone else notice the 'still-hot coffeepot' ? Hah! I was like "OMG! I made a rhyme!" xD Ah, review it then. I'll try to update it soon.

You know it's funny though, how this plot idea seemed SO GOOD in my head and I had such high expectations from it....yet, I can't seem to write it how I imagined it. Oh well, I'll give it time. Lots more chapters to go. Planning a funeral and such takes a lot more than just saying "we'll take that casket." believe me, I know. And I know I've added some stuff into here which might confuse you. Like when Tory's in the shower...yeah. All that mysterious Poole family stuff will be explained in later chapters.

Happy Reading!


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